Mycomplex mixes pistol shot hardcore with fringe metal riffs and throaty, shouted vocals, which is nothing new under the sun, but at least it’s played here with aggression and precision. It hits harder than your typical pop punk band while still searching out melody underneath the noisy exterior. The drumming is incredibly tight, but the puny, airgun sound makes it less effective in the mix. The band incorporates every single pop punk and hardcore cliche in the book, but its execution is so fiery that some missteps are forgivable (while others are not).

The lyrics are naive and idealistic to the point of comedy even, but such is the case with most punk bands these days. The singers play call and response games. Well, one sort of half-yells while the other one shrieks a response. You know the drill. Fugazi did it first, and Fugazi does it best. The songs are hard to distinguish the first few listens. They all follow the hardcore formula: an onslaught of guitars, and then a breakdown with fast, choppy harmonics and a few strained false stops. The typical hardcore beat bores me to tears, but when bands take it to a new level it’s easier to overlook. Mycomplex rarely tries to break the mold. It seems content just to mimic its idols.

The band loses any semblance of credibility it had gained on the preceding tracks, however, with the sappy closer, “Vent.” It’s a poorly sung acoustic ballad(!) with cheesy, embarrassing lyrics: “I’ve never cried so hard in my life” and “I still want to make you proud.” Ugh. Punk needs a kick in the ass.